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Shadow's 16G Disaster. Fumigation Poisoned the Tank and Crashed It.


Snow_Phoenix

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PLEASE JUMP STRAIGHT TO PAGE 51 TO SKIP THE BLAH BLAH BLAH.

 

 

Hi everyone, I've been a long time lurker on the site, and I've decided to actively participate on the forums.

The dimensions of my new tank is approx. 30" x 15" x 15", which makes it almost 30 gallons.

I added 10kg (22lbs) of cured live rock and another small piece of cured live rock from my 12 gallon Hexagon tank to kickstart the cycle. Threw in some fresh fish food to trigger an ammonia spike as well.

Approx. 10kg of live sand was added. Used up about 6kg of Marinium salt, but it still wasn't enough, so I'm cycling with a salinity level of 1.020 atm. And of course, my LFS just ran out of salt, so I'm waiting for the next batch to arrive.

So here are some pics:

 

1. Day 1 of cycling at slight hyposalinity to kill off any parasites and unwanted hitchikers. Here's the tank - un-wet and newly set-up:

 

 

 

2. Here's the 2' long sump tank with three partitions.

 

 

 

3. Here's the scape that Budi from Aquapets New Oasis Nusa Bestari, JB, Malaysia, set-up for me:

 

 

 

4. Here's how the tank looks like once the live sand was added:

 

 

 

5. And this is how my beauty looks like when she's all wet and ready to cycle:

 

 

 

6. My first partition of the sump houses ceramic bio-rings and crushed coral stones in an old, tied-up laundry bag (DIY lol) with a layer of green filter sponge:

 

 

 

7. My second sump partition features a Weipro SA-2013 HOB skimmer that is pulling out a hunk of gunk as we speak. Of course, following the advice of NR folk, I turned off the skimmer to let the bacteria have a proper food source:

 

 

 

8. My third sump partition houses an Astro 3000 return pump with a second-hand pod hotel containing dry rock to seed the tank with pods. I also plan on making this section a refugium using Chaeto and red seaweed in the future:

 

 

 

9. My first official unwanted hitchhiker turned out to be a little gorilla/rock crab. I killed him using boiling hot water.

 

 

 

10. Another hitchhiker that I discovered on my sandbed turned out to be this little peanut/feather duster worm. He’s surprisingly alive and contracting.

 

 

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11. I temporarily used the 1 foot long nano LED lights from my 12G Hexagon nano marine tank to reduce the amount of die-offs. It’s an Aquazonic 16.8W LED with Actinic Blue and 10K Daylight lights (crap light - purchased second-hand as well).

 

 

 

12. Some of the rocks already exhibited healthy purple coralline algae growth, which is a sign that of a healthy bacteria population within the rock itself. I hope the purple spreads out over time.

 

 

 

13. I also added a Resun-2000 Wavemaker to provide extra flow in the tank and prevent any dead spots.

 

 

 

14. On top of all that, I used an old pantyhose and placed several large scoops of activated carbon in it before tying up the end and placing it in the sump with the rest of my filter media.

 

 

 

15. Instead of using a filter sock and bracket (which is expensive here), I decided to temporarily use an old pantyhose and secure it to the outflow pipe using a piece of rubber band. This is to filter out any large debri that might get trapped.

 

 

 

16. I also secured a piece of black plastic mesh on the outflow pipe to prevent my smaller fish from getting sucked into the outflow in the future.

 

 

 

17. I also managed to pick up some extra salt (Marinium) from New Oasis Nusa Bestari JB.

 

 

 

18. I also picked up a proper set of lights – Odyssea’s T5HO lighting with 1 tube of Actinic Blue and 1 tube of 10K Daylight with a total output of 48W (24W each).

 

 

 

19. This will be my refugium basket. Will place Chaeto and Red seaweed (Macros) seeded with pods and spirochetes in it.

 

 

 

20. A fellow reefer pointed out that my sump tank is ‘dangling’ and the Styrofoam layer is cracking under the pressure of the tank. So I decided to create a better brace for my sump tank using a 2inch thick layer of Styrofoam, some black hardboard and a sheet of black waterproof PVC lining.

 

 

 

21. Bracing for sump tank complete!

 

 

 

 

 

22. I made a mini Styrofoam platform to raise my skimmer up about an inch from the base of the sump.

 

 

 

 

 

23. I also pinned up a sheet of waterproof linoleum to prevent the bubbles/spray from the skimmer and sump to corrode the metal stand of the aquarium.

 

 

 

24. Also spotted some huge spaghetti worms finally emerging from the rockwork! :D

 

 

 

25. FTS on 31/10/2013

 

 

 

 

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I love the rock scape! It looks natural and a lot of caves for the future fish! Not sure how I feel about ceramic rings though, keep them clean! :)

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Very nice looking start.

 

But...

12. Some of the rocks already exhibited healthy purple coralline algae growth, which is a sign that of a healthy bacteria population within the rock itself. I hope the purple spreads out over time.

Who told you that? Coralline on the rock has zilch to do with how much bacteria is present within the rock. That's like saying your car has new tires so that means the AC is working great.

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Thanks! I'm horrible at scaping so I asked Budi (one of the LFS workers) to scape the tank for me. He's a natural. He told me to add more LR pieces if possible. Another reefer was also concerned over the biorings. So I placed them in a laundry bag so that they're easier to rinse and move around. I'm thinking of picking up some Phosban or Phosguard or RowaPhos later as well. :)



Very nice looking start.

 

But...

Who told you that? Coralline on the rock has zilch to do with how much bacteria is present within the rock. That's like saying your car has new tires so that means the AC is working great.

 

Darn, I knew my reefer friend was wrong! He told me that usually established bacteria populations can be observed in high-coralline encrusted rock. Guess I should double-check my info.

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Well I guess most of the time that's going to be true because you're not going to find rock like that unless it's come from a tank. But dead rock can still be covered in it. Point in fact, I had some LR pieces I had used in my brackish tank a while back that kept the purple the entire time, then kept it after being removed from the tank, and still has it after being put back in my reef tank. So those particular rocks were live, then dead, then live again with different bacteria, then dead again, then live again and the whole while looked like it just came from a reef tank.

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This might sound very, very strange, but I tested my water again today, and there's no more ammonia. On top of all that, I'm getting zero nitrites and zero nitrates as well.

 

Nevertheless, I'm currently looking into various corals to keep. I have my eye set on a giant elephant ear mushroom, a mushroom mix colony, a toadstool leather and a stunning elegance coral. Any recommendations on what I should get first? The corals won't be purchased now, but I can book them at my LFS and pick them up when my tank is ready and more stable (preferably in a month or so).

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With cured live rock you may not get a huge cycle. I'd stick with shrooms or the toad as your first out of those choices.

 

Looks very nice. :)

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With cured live rock you may not get a huge cycle. I'd stick with shrooms or the toad as your first out of those choices.

 

Looks very nice. :)

 

Okay, that explains a lot. Guess my tank just went through a mini cycle. But I'll still let it sit coral-less for a while longer. Hmmm...I'll get the toad first then, and then the shroom. :)

 

And thank you.

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To keep everyone updated, I just noticed that I'm having a mini Aiptasia outbreak. I managed to nuke 2 using boiling hot water (syringe targeted) but the remaining three have gone into hiding in the rockwork. I notice they tend to 'pop out' at nightfall, so I'm just waiting for them to show up again.

 

Worse come to worse, I'll try to get a Berghia nudi and then pass it on once it's done its job.

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Get some super glue gel and cover them up. See if they pop up in a different spot and cover that one too. If you just have a few that would work.

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Get some super glue gel and cover them up. See if they pop up in a different spot and cover that one too. If you just have a few that would work.

 

Alright, will do so. Thanks for the tip!

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1. I went to Kukup Island today. Managed to harvest several nerite snails (excellent algae eaters) from the mangrove plants over there. Unfortunately I completely forgot to harvest some mangroves. *facepalm*

 

 

 

2. The reason I began adding my CUC is because I was getting a layer of diatoms on the sand and rocks already:

 

 

 

3. Also added a Zoa colony from my nano to test my water params. They opened up fully after a day and are doing considerably well.

 

 

 

4. I shifted my Octofrogspawn from my nano today morning to the 30G DT. This is the first time I’ve seen the coral open really widely.

 

 

 

5. My other zoa frag (recently acquired from New Oasis) is slowly taking its time open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. I noticed on the zoa frag that I had a hitchhiker coral as well. Looks like some sort of SPS like a brown monti, but I’m not 100% sure.

 

 

 

 

 

7. I also spotted this mysterious echinoderm hitchhiker, which could either be a regenerating starfish arm or a sea urchin larva.

 

 

 

8. I finally decided to shift Dilbert, my beloved electric blue knuckle hermit crab from my nano to the 30G. He’s right now conversing with a hitchhiker rock crab as we speak.

 

 

 

9. I also shifted a lone dwarf hermit from my nano to my 30G to reinforce my CUC.

 

 

 

 

10. My FTS on 4/11/2013.

 

 

 

 

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I've never had much luck with nerite snails. The ones I received from reefcleaners just kinda hang out together at one spot on the glass, just sitting there. I lose about one a week.

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I've never had much luck with nerite snails. The ones I received from reefcleaners just kinda hang out together at one spot on the glass, just sitting there. I lose about one a week.

Mine are the exact opposite, but my big ceriths don't do anything....

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Mine are the exact opposite, but my big ceriths don't do anything....

My larger ceriths all came in dead or were soon eaten by the hermits.

 

Yeah my stinkin nerites just clump on the glass and don't look useful at all.

Exactly what mine do. They always stay at the waterline on the glass. I've never seen them anywhere else.

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I found margarita snails to be very hard workers and kick the crap out of nerite snails in terms of munching on things. I know they are cool water-ish but they have been doing fine for awhile at 78 degrees. I originally bought them for mantis food but they did such a good job cleaning I kept a few.

 

 

Yeah my stinkin nerites just clump on the glass and don't look useful at all.

 

 

 

My larger ceriths all came in dead or were soon eaten by the hermits.

 

Exactly what mine do. They always stay at the waterline on the glass. I've never seen them anywhere else.

 

I've never had much luck with nerite snails. The ones I received from reefcleaners just kinda hang out together at one spot on the glass, just sitting there. I lose about one a week.

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I like your scape, it's airy and not clumpy/heavy looking. Will look so pretty with corals and fish swimming underneath.

 

Thank you. I managed to acquire some older colonies/frags from reefers around JB. So now I have a brownish-bluish Rhodactis Inchoata and green Ricordia Yuma. I'm stocking really slowly though, putting a bit of coral in every week once or twice. If everything is okay, I'll move the fish from my nano into the main tank one by one sometime next week or the week after.

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Darn. Well, the Nerites were technically 'free', so I thought I'd try my luck. My FW Nerite is very hardworking though - he munches on algae quicker than a vacuum cleaner. :o

 

omg, I wish there was SW snails comparable to FW ones. I added TWO to my 10g planted that I had set up for years without snails. The back wall, sides, and rocks were a mat of micro algae. Within 2 days they had years of algae gone.

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